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Does Suffering Have a Point? |
Does Suffering Have A Point? By Fr. Allain Caparas Our first instinctive response to suffering, whether it's physical, emotional, or spiritual is to try to avoid or escape it. This is natural and I am not suggesting that we look for ways to suffer. But sometimes, no matter how hard we try, there is no escaping it. As Catholics, we view suffering through eyes of our faith. And our faith in Christ reminds us that suffering without God can crush and destroy us. But suffering through, with, and in Christ can redeem and create. St. Paul tells us in his letter to the Romans that as children of God and co-heirs with Christ, "we suffer with [Christ], that we may also be glorified with Him" (Rm. 8:17). And by our endurance, we will also reign with him (cf. 2 Tim. 2:12; 1 Pt. 4:13). Therefore the Church teaches us, as taught in Sacred Scriptures, that there can be immense value in human suffering if united with those of Christ's suffering. Suffering, which is the direct result of Original Sin has been transformed into a blessing by means of Christ's suffering. By Christ's own suffering, suffering became an instrument for good, both for the individual and the world at large. Jesus showed us how to suffer and that just as God the Father used Jesus' suffering to defeat Satan, God uses our suffering to do the same. Therefore, suffering in union with Christ brings our human suffering to another level, elevating our weak humanity. How does suffering ennoble our humanity? Suffering, in union with Christ, helps us to attain humility. We recognize our creaturehood. We learn that our selfish desires are not the most important things in life, and that our ideas and strengths are not as great as we imagine them. In our frailty, we empathize with the weakness of others, and we become less self-centered, and more merciful, compassionate, and loving. We learn the true meaning of love involves the giving of oneself to the other. One who is unwilling to sacrifice or to suffer for the other cannot love. Jesus did say, "There is no greater love than this: that one lay down his life for his friends" (Jn. 15:12-13). And in another passage, "If anyone will come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me" (Mt. 16:24-25). How does suffering defeat evil? Just as the suffering of Christ did not go to waste, our suffering is not useless. When we offer our sufferings in union with Christ's suffering, by God's mysterious will, he uses our suffering to convert the hearts of hardened sinners; he uses our suffering to help a person struggling with life; he uses our suffering to help the souls in purgatory. And we can even, request from God that the graces of sufferings we endure, be applied to a particular intention or a particular person. Why does God permit this? By the virtue of our Baptism, we have become partners with Christ in bringing about our salvation and the salvation of the world. We are no longer bystanders or spectators in God's divine plan, but partners with him. As St. Paul says in Ephesians 3:6, we have become "fellow heirs and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel" And so suffering in union with Christ opens the door to the spiritual world; it opens our soul to the "pearl of great price" which makes life worth living and brings meaning to life. We gain the peace of Christ that makes any situation bearable - we experience in our hearts that same gift that accompanied the martyrs to their deaths and the saints to their glory. May we become more attuned to the promptings of grace, rejoicing in the sufferings we might have to bear, to fill up what is lacking to the sufferings of Christ for His Body the Church (cf. Col. 1:24). Back |